Mollie Blake is a published author of contemporary romance. A lover of reading sexy stories, Mollie decided to go one step further and write her own. Her romances are filled with danger and peppered with hot sexy scenes. She is a member of International Thriller Writers and UK Romantic Novelists Association.

When my manuscript comes back from my editor with the first set of
revisions, I get really excited. I’m not sure if this means I’m weird. Does
anyone else enjoy getting their revisions back?

I guess I like it for two reasons. Firstly, I get to re-read my
story. This will be for the umpteenth time, but it will have been awhile since
I last read it. I love to meet up with my characters again. Plus, it’s one more
chance to be satisfied, or make that last(!) change.

The second reason is that I really value the input from my editor.
Not only does she bring her expertise to the table, she will identify flaws, amend grammatical errors, and make comments
on consistency, realism, and overall enjoyment of the book. Believe me, there
will be plenty.

In addition to sending the edited version of my story, the editor
will summarise her findings and overall comments. From the tone, I get a good
feel whether to expect a lot of comments or not too many. My second book to be
published, Guiltless, came back with
very few, only needing to go through one round of edits. It was a different
story with my first book, The Secret At
Arnford Hall, where the story is much darker and some scenes needed to be
handled sensitively.

After digesting the editor’s summary, the first thing I do when I
open the Word document containing the manuscript, is make two saves, one as the
original from the editor, and the second renamed to show it is the copy on
which I make any changes or comments. Then, under strict instruction from the
publisher, track changes goes on and stays on. This necessity is obvious. I
desperately want to see what the editor has done to my original script, and, of
course, she needs to know what I do. I may comment that I love the changes she
has made, or I may even state that I don’t agree. If the latter is the case, I
will justify my reasons as appropriate. There are strict rules in the contract
about changes made and accepted, which I think’s fair enough. Although it will
always be my book, I appreciate it’s important the publisher knows exactly what
they are publishing in the end.

After settling at the island in my kitchen with a cup of herbal
tea, I’m ready to read the whole script, going through it with a fine-tooth
comb. I begin by scrolling down the “track changes” panel to scan for comments
and points of significance. These usually stand out from formatting and grammar
changes by being longer notes and tagged as comments.

If there is something significant, I will take time to consider the
point raised.

Here’s an example. The editor commented, “If you keep repeating the character’s last name, you put
artificial distance between the character and the reader, and that is the last
thing you want to do.”This raised an
important point for me. I was deliberately using the last name to emphasize the
remoteness of Gabriel Black in The Secret
At Arnford Hall. But clearly that point hadn’t gotten across to the editor.
Therefore it’s very likely it wouldn’t get across to the reader either. It made
me realize I had alienated the hero too much.

But like I said, I don’t always accept what the editor does. In
another example, before my work went to my American publisher, Black Opal
Books, an editor commented on the number of days I had left between a death and
a funeral. She thought it was too many. But a post mortem would have been
necessary and I had already checked with a policewoman friend who said my time
period was realistic. So I explained this in my own comment.

Whenever I disagree with a comment from the editor, I always
re-check my reasoning to make sure I’m still happy with my version. Like I said
before, what the editor questions, the reader may well question. That may mean
I’ve got it wrong somewhere and that’s the last thing I want.

Then there are the times I can’t see the wood for the trees. Once I
had a car change from white at the beginning of a book, to silver by the end,
without a re-spray.

There’s one more point I’d like to share. Going through the
editor’s revisions makes me feel a part of team. Ultimately the editor, and
publisher, are on my side – we all want to sell books and we want readers to
enjoy them. The life of an author can be a very lonely one and it’s good for me
to know someone is there with me, even if they are nearly five thousand miles
away.

Guiltless- A Cheshire Love Story

Managing Director of her own successful fashion house, Lauren Chandler should have everything going for her. But at twenty-nine, she finds herself single again, and bored. Seeking a new challenge in her life, under the guise of saving her company money, Lauren embarks on a mission to model their latest range of lingerie herself. She just needs a photographer. When Byron Lord makes an unusual proposal, Lauren is adamant he won’t win the contract.

Co-owner of Broadway Studios, Byron Lord is determined to provide job security to his off-beat workforce, and he needs Lauren Chandler’s help to do so. Byron may have underestimated how far Lauren would be prepared to go. He had definitely underestimated how much she would demand of him.

And with an ultimatum of her own, Lauren gets far more than she bargained for.

Congrats, Mollie! I'm not usually so excited when I get my critique/edits, but I'm usually afraid it'll come back with a "You suck. Stop writing now!" It never has, but I always open the email with trepidation. Heh. The edits are so helpful, though, to let me know where I missed the mark or how I need to make something clearer to the reader.

I'm an editor, and I still get nervous when I get my edits back. As a matter of fact, I got the first round of edits back for book 4 in my series and haven't been able to look at them yet. I've never had to worry before, but I can't help it.

You just have to do it, Chrys. I treat it as a learning curve which never ends. And sometimes the editor has picked up on just a silly mistake - no matter how many times you read your own script, you never see that one! Good luck with your editing and writing x